My Mother the Car
Encyclopedia
My Mother the Car is an American fantasy
sitcom which aired for a single season on NBC
between September 14, 1965 and September 6, 1966. A total of thirty episodes were produced by United Artists Television
.
Critics and adult viewers generally panned the show, often savagely. In 2002, TV Guide
proclaimed it to be the second-worst of all time, just behind The Jerry Springer Show
. In 2010 The O'Reilly Factor
recorded its viewers as listing it as the worst show of all time. The show's co-creator, Allan Burns, went on to create some of the most critically acclaimed shows in television history, including The Mary Tyler Moore Show
, Rhoda
, and Lou Grant
. Renowned television producer James L. Brooks
, who later collaborated with Burns on these series, created, among others, Room 222
and Taxi
, and served as executive producer of The Simpsons
(which later parodied the show in the "Lovematic Grandpa" segment of The Simpsons Spin-Off Showcase
), got his start in television sitcoms on My Mother the Car when he was called upon to rewrite a script for an episode of the series. The other co-creator of My Mother the Car, Chris Hayward
, produced and wrote for Barney Miller
during its first several seasons.
), who, while shopping at a used car lot for a station wagon
to serve as a second family car, instead purchases a dilapidated 1928 "Porter" touring car
. Crabtree heard the car call his name in a woman's voice, which later turned out to be that of his deceased mother, Gladys (voiced by Ann Sothern
). The car, a valuable antique, is a reincarnation
of his mother who talks (only to Crabtree, of course) through the car's radio. The dial light flashed in sync with "Mother's" voice. In an effort to get his family to accept the old, tired car, Crabtree brings it to a custom body shop for a full restoration
. The car was originally coveted by a collector named Captain Manzini even before its restoration, but Crabtree purchases and restores the car before Manzini can acquire it.
For the rest of the series, Crabtree is pursued by the avaricious Captain Manzini (Avery Schreiber
), who is determined to acquire the valuable automobile from Crabtree. In a running gag characterizing his shifty nature, Manzini (who resembles a 1920s silent film
villain
) always mistakes Crabtree's name when speaking to him. "Now, then, Crabapple..." "That's Crabtree." "Whatever."
Others in the cast included Maggie Pierce as wife Barbara and Cindy Eilbacher (the sister of Lisa Eilbacher
) and Randy Whipple as the kids, Cindy and Randy.
ish situations, such as Bewitched
and My Favorite Martian
, but it failed and for many years afterward was widely ridiculed as the quintessential "worst show of all time," though many competitors have vied for that title since then. It did not help that the highly respected Dick Van Dyke Show
, starring Jerry's brother, was still on the air at the time on another network. Audience demographics was an emerging science in the mid-1960s. My Mother the Car was a hit with younger viewers, but no one at the time knew just how to exploit the youth market with a live-action sitcom.
and Chris Hayward
, who had better success with Rocky & Bullwinkle, The Munsters
, and Get Smart
(which debuted the same season). AMT, Aluminum Model Toys, a well-known producer of plastic model car kits, introduced a 1/25-scale kit of the Porter in late 1965.
The composer of the theme music was Paul Hampton
. It was used on an episode of Arrested Development also called "My Mother, the Car".
When shooting of a sit-com pilot at the MGM-TV studios required an antique car, assistant prop man Kaye Trapp leased the producers a 1924 Ford T-tub rod he recently bought from his friend and its builder, Norman Grabowski, “father of the T-bucket
” and bit actor. Both Grabowski and the car had earlier appeared in the B-comedy Sex Kittens Go to College (1960). The touring auto sported diamond-tufted naugahyde upholstery, oversized white tonneau, plush black carpeting, chrome windshield braces and half-moon hubcaps. Trapp and studio special effects man Norm Breedlove (father of land-speed-record-setter Craig) set to work modifying the car to give it a distinctive look, including elongated engine compartment, palladian-style brass radiator with “Porter” script, running-board-mounted spare tire, outboard fuel tank and antique cane-clad trunk. (It was later fitted, as needed, with special effects hardware such as an oil tank drip to simulate a smoking engine and "tear ducts" in the headlamp bezels.) Off-camera operation of electrics was by umbilical cable. The signature features gave it an anachronistic look, resembling cars of earlier eras.
The power train was the rod-grade 283 cu in V8 (Chevrolet
small-block) engine mated with Powerglide
automatic transmission. The ‘Porter’ was registered (as a modified Ford) in 1964 with the contemporary yellow-on-black California license plates PZR 317 evident throughout the show's run. Though it bore a few design similarities with the FRP Porter, which may have suggested the tv car’s moniker, it is rumoured that it was named after the show’s production manager, W A Porter.
When series production was approved, the Grabowski rod was retained as the ‘hero’ car, and a second—-‘stunt’, or special-effects—-car was commissioned and built by celebrated car customizer George Barris, whose Barris Kustom Industries
licensed it to AMT for model kit production (an inaccurate rendering) and also toured it after series wrap with other of his creations. The stunt car, not conventionally driveable, was ingeniously equipped with apparatus to let Mother "drive herself" via a system of levers and mirrors operated by a short human driver concealed on a tractor seat below the removed rear floorboards. It also had other special mechanical features such as gimbaled headlamps.
Both cars had the dashboard-mounted radio head with flashing dial light through which Mother "talked" (though only to her son). These scenes were filmed with a stand-in; Ann Sothern’s voice was dubbed to the soundtrack in post-production. Generally, the hero car was used for driving shots and close-ups, and the stunt car for long shots and special effects sequences. Either was available as a stand-in in case of mechanical breakdown on set. Though made to represent one car, they can be distinguished by minor details, and actually appeared together in one episode.
Additionally, a third car was used in filming, representing both the dilapidated car-lot Porter of the pilot and, in another episode, a “1932 Porter”. This car may not have been complete, and its existence and whereabouts are unknown.
The hero car, long in the collection of Harry Costa (South San Francisco, California), is currently in the ownership and operation of David Bodnar (Edmonton, Alberta, Canada). The stunt car was once owned by casino giant William Harrah, who had one of the largest special-interest and antique auto collections (Reno, Nevada) of all time. After Harrah's death in 1984, the auction catalogue advertised the lot as having a carnation
red body with white top and created from parts of a Model T, a Maxwell
, a Hudson and a Chevrolet
. Following ownership by Rear View Mirror Museum (Nags Head, North Carolina) and later Herbie's Antique & Classic Car Museum (Mount Pleasant, South Carolina), the stunt Porter is currently on display in Star Cars Museum (Gatlinburg, Tennessee
).
which bought United Artists
in 1981. All 30 episodes are available for viewing on hulu.com. The first five episodes are available on YouTube.
Fantasy television
Fantasy television is a genre of television programming featuring elements of the fantastic, often including magic, supernatural forces, or exotic fantasy worlds. Fantasy television programs are often based on tales from mythology and folklore, or are adapted from fantasy stories in other media...
sitcom which aired for a single season on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
between September 14, 1965 and September 6, 1966. A total of thirty episodes were produced by United Artists Television
United Artists Television
-Background:UA purchased Associated Artists Productions in 1958, giving UA access to the pre-1950 Warner Bros. library and the Popeye cartoons made by Fleischer Studios and Famous Studios between 1933 and 1957....
.
Critics and adult viewers generally panned the show, often savagely. In 2002, TV Guide
TV Guide
TV Guide is a weekly American magazine with listings of TV shows.In addition to TV listings, the publication features television-related news, celebrity interviews, gossip and film reviews and crossword puzzles...
proclaimed it to be the second-worst of all time, just behind The Jerry Springer Show
The Jerry Springer Show
The Jerry Springer Show is a syndicated television tabloid talk show hosted by Jerry Springer, a former politician, broadcast in the United States and other countries...
. In 2010 The O'Reilly Factor
The O'Reilly Factor
The O'Reilly Factor, originally titled The O'Reilly Report from 1996 to 1998 and often called The Factor, is an American talk show on the Fox News Channel hosted by commentator Bill O'Reilly, who often discusses current controversial political issues with guests.The program was the most watched...
recorded its viewers as listing it as the worst show of all time. The show's co-creator, Allan Burns, went on to create some of the most critically acclaimed shows in television history, including The Mary Tyler Moore Show
The Mary Tyler Moore Show
The Mary Tyler Moore Show is an American television sitcom created by James L. Brooks and Allan Burns that aired on CBS from 1970 to 1977...
, Rhoda
Rhoda
Rhoda is an American television sitcom, starring Valerie Harper, which ran for five seasons, from 1974 to 1978 airing in 109 episodes. The show was a spin-off from The Mary Tyler Moore Show, in which Harper between the years 1970 and 1974 had played the role of Rhoda Morgenstern, a spunky,...
, and Lou Grant
Lou Grant (TV series)
Lou Grant is an American television drama series starring Ed Asner in the titular role as a newspaper editor. Unusual in American television, this drama series was a spinoff from a sitcom, The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Aired from 1977 to 1982, Lou Grant won 13 Emmy Awards, including "Outstanding Drama...
. Renowned television producer James L. Brooks
James L. Brooks
James Lawrence Brooks is an American director, producer and screenwriter. Growing up in North Bergen, New Jersey, Brooks endured a fractured family life and passed the time by reading and writing. After dropping out of New York University, he got a job as an usher at CBS, going on to write for the...
, who later collaborated with Burns on these series, created, among others, Room 222
Room 222
Room 222 is an American comedy-drama television series produced by 20th Century Fox Television. The series aired on ABC from September 17, 1969, to January 11, 1974, for 112 episodes...
and Taxi
Taxi (TV series)
Taxi was an American sitcom that originally aired from 1978 to 1982 on ABC and from 1982 to 1983 on NBC. The series, which won 18 Emmy Awards, including three for "Outstanding Comedy Series", focuses on the everyday lives of a handful of New York City taxi drivers and their abusive dispatcher...
, and served as executive producer of The Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
(which later parodied the show in the "Lovematic Grandpa" segment of The Simpsons Spin-Off Showcase
The Simpsons Spin-Off Showcase
"The Simpsons Spin-Off Showcase" is the twenty-fourth episode of the eighth season of The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on May 11, 1997. The episode centers on fictional pilot episodes of non-existent television series derived from The Simpsons, and is a...
), got his start in television sitcoms on My Mother the Car when he was called upon to rewrite a script for an episode of the series. The other co-creator of My Mother the Car, Chris Hayward
Chris Hayward
Chris Hayward was an American television writer and producer. He was the co-creator, with Allan Burns, of the 1960s television show The Munsters and the creator of Dudley Do-Right....
, produced and wrote for Barney Miller
Barney Miller
Barney Miller is a situation comedy television series set in a New York City police station in Greenwich Village. The series originally was broadcast from January 23, 1975 to May 20, 1982 on ABC. It was created by Danny Arnold and Theodore J. Flicker...
during its first several seasons.
Synopsis
The show follows the exploits of attorney David Crabtree (played by Jerry Van DykeJerry Van Dyke
Jerry Van Dyke is an American comedian and actor. He is the younger brother of comedian and actor Dick Van Dyke, and made his acting debut on The Dick Van Dyke Show with several guest appearances as Rob Petrie's brother, Stacey...
), who, while shopping at a used car lot for a station wagon
Station wagon
A station wagon is a body style variant of a sedan/saloon with its roof extended rearward over a shared passenger/cargo volume with access at the back via a third or fifth door , instead of a trunk lid...
to serve as a second family car, instead purchases a dilapidated 1928 "Porter" touring car
Touring car
A touring car, or tourer, is an open car seating five or more. Touring cars may have two or four doors. Often, the belt line is lowered in the front doors to give the car a more sportive character. They were often fitted with a folding roof and side curtains. Engines on early models were either in...
. Crabtree heard the car call his name in a woman's voice, which later turned out to be that of his deceased mother, Gladys (voiced by Ann Sothern
Ann Sothern
Ann Sothern was an American film and television actress whose career spanned six decades.-Early life and career:...
). The car, a valuable antique, is a reincarnation
Reincarnation
Reincarnation best describes the concept where the soul or spirit, after the death of the body, is believed to return to live in a new human body, or, in some traditions, either as a human being, animal or plant...
of his mother who talks (only to Crabtree, of course) through the car's radio. The dial light flashed in sync with "Mother's" voice. In an effort to get his family to accept the old, tired car, Crabtree brings it to a custom body shop for a full restoration
Automotive Restoration
Automobile restoration is the process of repairing the degraded aspect of a car to return it to an overall "authentic" condition. To renovate a car without updating or upgrading it by keeping in line with how it would have appeared when first offered for sale...
. The car was originally coveted by a collector named Captain Manzini even before its restoration, but Crabtree purchases and restores the car before Manzini can acquire it.
For the rest of the series, Crabtree is pursued by the avaricious Captain Manzini (Avery Schreiber
Avery Schreiber
Avery Lawrence Schreiber was an American comedian and actor. He was a veteran of stage, TV, and film.-Biography:...
), who is determined to acquire the valuable automobile from Crabtree. In a running gag characterizing his shifty nature, Manzini (who resembles a 1920s silent film
Silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
villain
Villain
A villain is an "evil" character in a story, whether a historical narrative or, especially, a work of fiction. The villain usually is the antagonist, the character who tends to have a negative effect on other characters...
) always mistakes Crabtree's name when speaking to him. "Now, then, Crabapple..." "That's Crabtree." "Whatever."
Others in the cast included Maggie Pierce as wife Barbara and Cindy Eilbacher (the sister of Lisa Eilbacher
Lisa Eilbacher
Lisa Eilbacher is an American television and motion picture actress.-Personal life:Eilbacher was born in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, the daughter of an American oil company executive. She was raised in France...
) and Randy Whipple as the kids, Cindy and Randy.
Reception
My Mother the Car belonged to the genre of "wacky" TV sitcoms popular at the time that featured supernatural characters and cartoonCartoon
A cartoon is a form of two-dimensional illustrated visual art. While the specific definition has changed over time, modern usage refers to a typically non-realistic or semi-realistic drawing or painting intended for satire, caricature, or humor, or to the artistic style of such works...
ish situations, such as Bewitched
Bewitched
Bewitched is an American situation comedy originally broadcast for eight seasons on ABC from 1964 to 1972, starring Elizabeth Montgomery, Dick York and Dick Sargent , Agnes Moorehead, and David White. The show is about a witch who marries a mortal and tries to lead the life of a typical suburban...
and My Favorite Martian
My Favorite Martian
My Favorite Martian is an American television sitcom that aired on CBS from September 29, 1963 to May 1, 1966 for 107 episodes...
, but it failed and for many years afterward was widely ridiculed as the quintessential "worst show of all time," though many competitors have vied for that title since then. It did not help that the highly respected Dick Van Dyke Show
The Dick Van Dyke Show
The Dick Van Dyke Show is an American television sitcom that initially aired on the Columbia Broadcasting System from October 3, 1961, until June 1, 1966. The show was created by Carl Reiner and starred Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore. It was produced by Reiner with Bill Persky and Sam Denoff....
, starring Jerry's brother, was still on the air at the time on another network. Audience demographics was an emerging science in the mid-1960s. My Mother the Car was a hit with younger viewers, but no one at the time knew just how to exploit the youth market with a live-action sitcom.
Production notes
The show was created by Allan BurnsAllan Burns
Allan Burns is an American screenwriter and television producer. Burns is best known for, alongside James L. Brooks, creating and writing for the television sitcoms The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Rhoda.-Early life:...
and Chris Hayward
Chris Hayward
Chris Hayward was an American television writer and producer. He was the co-creator, with Allan Burns, of the 1960s television show The Munsters and the creator of Dudley Do-Right....
, who had better success with Rocky & Bullwinkle, The Munsters
The Munsters
The Munsters is a 1960s American family television sitcom depicting the home life of a family of monsters. It starred Fred Gwynne as Herman Munster and Yvonne De Carlo as his wife, Lily Munster. The series was a satire of both traditional monster movies and popular family entertainment of the era,...
, and Get Smart
Get Smart
Get Smart is an American comedy television series that satirizes the secret agent genre. Created by Mel Brooks with Buck Henry, the show starred Don Adams , Barbara Feldon , and Edward Platt...
(which debuted the same season). AMT, Aluminum Model Toys, a well-known producer of plastic model car kits, introduced a 1/25-scale kit of the Porter in late 1965.
The composer of the theme music was Paul Hampton
Paul Hampton
Paul Hampton is an American actor, singer, lyricist and writer. He is listed as one of one hundred major architects of American rock and roll in the British rock journal "Footsoldiers and Kings." While he was a sophomore at Dartmouth College, he was signed to Columbia Records and Columbia...
. It was used on an episode of Arrested Development also called "My Mother, the Car".
The Car
The “1928 Porter” which is “My Mother the Car” was largely a fiction. Real Porter cars did exist: The first was a steam automobile (Boston, Massachusetts, 1900–01) and the second a powerful luxury car made (Bridgeport, Connecticut, 1919–22) from parts left over from production of Finley R Porter’s FRP. By the 1960s, both cars were extinct.When shooting of a sit-com pilot at the MGM-TV studios required an antique car, assistant prop man Kaye Trapp leased the producers a 1924 Ford T-tub rod he recently bought from his friend and its builder, Norman Grabowski, “father of the T-bucket
T-bucket
A T-bucket is a specific style of hot rod car, based on a Ford Model T, but extensively modified, or alternatively built with replica components to resemble a Model T....
” and bit actor. Both Grabowski and the car had earlier appeared in the B-comedy Sex Kittens Go to College (1960). The touring auto sported diamond-tufted naugahyde upholstery, oversized white tonneau, plush black carpeting, chrome windshield braces and half-moon hubcaps. Trapp and studio special effects man Norm Breedlove (father of land-speed-record-setter Craig) set to work modifying the car to give it a distinctive look, including elongated engine compartment, palladian-style brass radiator with “Porter” script, running-board-mounted spare tire, outboard fuel tank and antique cane-clad trunk. (It was later fitted, as needed, with special effects hardware such as an oil tank drip to simulate a smoking engine and "tear ducts" in the headlamp bezels.) Off-camera operation of electrics was by umbilical cable. The signature features gave it an anachronistic look, resembling cars of earlier eras.
The power train was the rod-grade 283 cu in V8 (Chevrolet
Chevrolet
Chevrolet , also known as Chevy , is a brand of vehicle produced by General Motors Company . Founded by Louis Chevrolet and ousted GM founder William C. Durant on November 3, 1911, General Motors acquired Chevrolet in 1918...
small-block) engine mated with Powerglide
Powerglide
The Powerglide is a two-speed automatic transmission designed by General Motors. It was available primarily on Chevrolet from January, 1950 through 1973, although some Pontiac models also used this automatic transmission, extensively on models produced for the Canadian market with Chevrolet...
automatic transmission. The ‘Porter’ was registered (as a modified Ford) in 1964 with the contemporary yellow-on-black California license plates PZR 317 evident throughout the show's run. Though it bore a few design similarities with the FRP Porter, which may have suggested the tv car’s moniker, it is rumoured that it was named after the show’s production manager, W A Porter.
When series production was approved, the Grabowski rod was retained as the ‘hero’ car, and a second—-‘stunt’, or special-effects—-car was commissioned and built by celebrated car customizer George Barris, whose Barris Kustom Industries
George Barris (auto customizer)
George Barris is a designer of custom cars.-Early history:George and his brother Sam were born in Chicago in the 1920s. After the deaths of their parents, they moved to Roseville, California as children to live with relatives. Both were good students, interested in drama, music, and design...
licensed it to AMT for model kit production (an inaccurate rendering) and also toured it after series wrap with other of his creations. The stunt car, not conventionally driveable, was ingeniously equipped with apparatus to let Mother "drive herself" via a system of levers and mirrors operated by a short human driver concealed on a tractor seat below the removed rear floorboards. It also had other special mechanical features such as gimbaled headlamps.
Both cars had the dashboard-mounted radio head with flashing dial light through which Mother "talked" (though only to her son). These scenes were filmed with a stand-in; Ann Sothern’s voice was dubbed to the soundtrack in post-production. Generally, the hero car was used for driving shots and close-ups, and the stunt car for long shots and special effects sequences. Either was available as a stand-in in case of mechanical breakdown on set. Though made to represent one car, they can be distinguished by minor details, and actually appeared together in one episode.
Additionally, a third car was used in filming, representing both the dilapidated car-lot Porter of the pilot and, in another episode, a “1932 Porter”. This car may not have been complete, and its existence and whereabouts are unknown.
The hero car, long in the collection of Harry Costa (South San Francisco, California), is currently in the ownership and operation of David Bodnar (Edmonton, Alberta, Canada). The stunt car was once owned by casino giant William Harrah, who had one of the largest special-interest and antique auto collections (Reno, Nevada) of all time. After Harrah's death in 1984, the auction catalogue advertised the lot as having a carnation
Carnation
Dianthus caryophyllus is a species of Dianthus. It is probably native to the Mediterranean region but its exact range is unknown due to extensive cultivation for the last 2,000 years. It is the wild ancestor of the garden carnation.It is a herbaceous perennial plant growing to 80 cm tall...
red body with white top and created from parts of a Model T, a Maxwell
Maxwell automobile
The Maxwell was a brand of automobiles manufactured in the United States of America from about 1904 to 1925. The present-day successor to the Maxwell company is Chrysler Group.-History:...
, a Hudson and a Chevrolet
Chevrolet
Chevrolet , also known as Chevy , is a brand of vehicle produced by General Motors Company . Founded by Louis Chevrolet and ousted GM founder William C. Durant on November 3, 1911, General Motors acquired Chevrolet in 1918...
. Following ownership by Rear View Mirror Museum (Nags Head, North Carolina) and later Herbie's Antique & Classic Car Museum (Mount Pleasant, South Carolina), the stunt Porter is currently on display in Star Cars Museum (Gatlinburg, Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
).
Cast
- Jerry Van DykeJerry Van DykeJerry Van Dyke is an American comedian and actor. He is the younger brother of comedian and actor Dick Van Dyke, and made his acting debut on The Dick Van Dyke Show with several guest appearances as Rob Petrie's brother, Stacey...
as Dave Crabtree - Maggie Pierce as Barbara Crabtree
- Ann SothernAnn SothernAnn Sothern was an American film and television actress whose career spanned six decades.-Early life and career:...
as 1928 Porter (Gladys Crabtree) - Avery SchreiberAvery SchreiberAvery Lawrence Schreiber was an American comedian and actor. He was a veteran of stage, TV, and film.-Biography:...
as Captain Bernard Manzini - Cindy Eilbacher as Cindy Crabtree
- Randy Whipple as Randy Crabtree
Episodes
| Episode # | Episode title | Original airdate |
|---|---|---|
| 1-1 | "Come Honk Your Horn" | September 14, 1965 |
| 1–2 | "The De-Fenders" | September 21, 1965 |
| 1–3 | "What Makes Auntie Freeze" | September 28, 1965 |
| 1–4 | "Lassie, I Mean Mother, Come Home" | October 5, 1965 |
| 1–5 | "Burned at the Steak" | October 12, 1965 |
| 1–6 | "I'm Through Being a Nice Guy" | October 19, 1965 |
| 1–7 | "Lights, Camera, Mother" | October 25, 1965 |
| 1–8 | "The Captain Manzini Grand Prix" | November 2, 1965 |
| 1–9 | "TV or Not TV" | November 9, 1965 |
| 1–10 | "My Son, the Ventriloquist" | November 16, 1965 |
| 1–11 | "My Son, the Judge" | November 23, 1965 |
| 1–12 | "And Leave the Drive-In to Us" | November 30, 1965 |
| 1–13 | "For Whom the Horn Honks" | December 7, 1965 |
| 1–14 | "Hey Lady, Your Slip Isn't Showing" | December 14, 1965 |
| 1–15 | "Many Happy No-Returns" | December 21, 1965 |
| 1–16 | "Shine On, Shine On, Honeymoon" | December 28, 1965 |
| 1–17 | "I Remember Mama, Why Can't You Remember Me?" | January 4, 1966 |
| 1–18 | "Goldporter" | January 11, 1966 |
| 1–19 | "The Incredible Shrinking Car" | January 18, 1966 |
| 1–20 | "I'd Rather Do it Myself, Mother" | January 25, 1966 |
| 1–21 | "You Can't Get There From Here" | February 1, 1966 |
| 1–22 | "A Riddler on the Roof" | February 8, 1966 |
| 1–23 | "My Son, the Criminal" | February 15, 1966 |
| 1–24 | "An Unreasonable Facsimile" | February 22, 1966 |
| 1–25 | "Over the Hill to the Junkyard" | March 1, 1966 |
| 1–26 | "It Might as Well Be Spring as Not" | March 8, 1966 |
| 1–27 | "Absorba the Greek" | March 15, 1966 |
| 1–28 | "The Blabbermouth" | March 22, 1966 |
| 1–29 | "When You Wish Upon a Car" | March 29, 1966 |
| 1–30 | "Desperate Minutes" | April 5, 1966 |
Availability
The current owner of the show is Metro-Goldwyn-MayerMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
which bought United Artists
United Artists
United Artists Corporation is an American film studio. The original studio of that name was founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charles Chaplin, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks....
in 1981. All 30 episodes are available for viewing on hulu.com. The first five episodes are available on YouTube.